Recurrence of Autoimmune Diabetes Mellitus in Recipients of Cadaveric Pancreatic Grafts

Abstract

Insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus is an autoimmune disease in which the beta cells of the islets of Langerhans are selectively destroyed.1 In a patient with this disease, a transplanted pancreas should be as susceptible to the autoimmune process as the native pancreas. Indeed, insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus can recur in an immunocompetent or minimally immunosuppressed recipient of a pancreatic transplant from an identical twin or HLA-identical sibling.2 Usually, however, the degree of immunosuppression required to prevent rejection is sufficient to prevent autoimmune damage to the pancreatic graft.3 We report on two patients who underwent pancreatic transplantation with poor HLA matching and in . . .